HD Notebook

No two herds are the same, but those that reach 100 pounds of milk per cow per day have certain practices in common.

by Abby Bauer, Hoard’s Dairyman Associate Editor

Farms getting 100 pounds of milk per day from their cows are doing a lot of things right. Like what, you might ask?

To answer that question, Nigel Cook and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine performed a cluster analysis of 557 dairy herds with more than 200 cows using freestall housing in Wisconsin. The analysis categorized farms using 16 different DHIA monitors of herd performance. The farms sorted themselves into six clusters of varying levels of production and herd health success. Read more

Financial summary says Jerseys don’t just compete, they excel.

Steady growth in the number of Jersey herds in the U.S., particularly among large dairy owners in the West, naturally leads to the question of how do they do financially?

It’s not an easy question to answer, because many individual farms have to be willing to share their precise financial information in order to form a clear picture. Fortunately, one such database does exist.

In addition to the annual dairy income and expense reports that Genske, Mulder & Co. LLC, the largest dairy accounting firm in the U.S., prepares summarizing all of its clients as a group, it also does a separate summary for its Jersey clients. Read more

All are in Europe and Australia. Herd sizes range from 300 to 850.

If robots are the next evolution of milking cows on a large scale, then the future is here already. Except it is happening slowly and not at all in the U.S. . . . yet.

Several companies have sold single- or multiple-stall robotic systems since the 1980s, but all have been aimed at small dairies. DeLaval is the only firm that has married robotic technology to the rotary parlor format that is popular with big herds. At the heart of its automatic milking rotary (AMR) system is a computer that controls multiple robots to perform teat preparation, milking unit attachment and postmilking teat spraying for up to 24 stalls. Read more

Milk price decline in 2015 should begin recovering late in the year.

by Dennis Halladay, Hoard’s Dairyman Western Editor

Strong production by most major dairy exporting nations during the second half of 2014 collided with weakening economies in much of the world to swamp global markets, cut demand, and trigger the rapid decline in milk price that U.S. dairies are seeing now.

It’s a situation that Rabobank expects to continue in the first half of 2015 but then turn around. Its Dairy Quarterly report released two days ago forecast lower production and falling market inventories during the second half of the year that should encourage prices to rise. Read more

There’s a fine line between ensuring cows have adequate feed for milk production and minimizing the cost associated with what’s left in the bunk.

By Amanda Smith, Hoard’s Dairyman Associate Editor

Dairymen balance their feed budgets on pennies. Ingredients are often pulled from a ration based on the perceived cents per cow it could save the bottom line. Feed refusals, too, fall victim to this mindset. In an effort to reduce the amount of feed that is “wasted” on a daily basis, some producers have chosen to feed to a slick bunk. This choice isn’t always advantageous, though.

Providing dairy cattle with unlimited access to high-quality feed over the course of the day is the best way to promote maximum feed intake and improve milk production, noted Alanna Kmicikewycz, a Ph.D. candidate at Penn State University. Read more

Select the best person for the position

By Patti Hurtgen, Hoard’s Dairyman Online Media Manager

On NFL draft night, the team with the worst record picks first. They are, in theory, in need of the best talent. It used to surprise me that the most touted college players, like Heisman Trophy finalists, didn’t get selected first, second and third. Now, I understand it is more about how that player would fit into the current organizations team dynamics. Read more

Just like a lactation curve peaks and then tapers over time, so should your calf feeding program.

by Abby Bauer, Hoard’s Dairyman Associate Editor

Today’s dairy producers use the lactation curve to schedule milk harvest from a cow. Her milk production level dictates ration changes, housing group and may push up or move back her dry-off date.

“The original purpose of the lactation curve, though, was to feed calves,” says Trevor DeVries from the University of Guelph. DeVries discussed the need to apply concepts of natural behavior to modern calf rearing practices during his presentation at the Calf and Heifer Congress in Rochester, New York. Read more

Don’t overlook lighting options for heifers and dry cows.

by Ali Enerson, Hoard’s Dairyman Special Publications Editor

Your lighting decisions affect animals at all ages, not just lactating dairy cows. A recent Kentucky Cooperative Extension paper reminds us of the importance of both long-day and short-day photoperiods throughout the cow’s life cycle.

While long-day lighting is commonly touted for up to a 10 percent boost in milk production, lighting strategy in both heifers and dry cows seems to take a backseat. Read more

National average SCC set a new record low in 2013.

by Dennis Halladay, Hoard’s Dairyman Western Editor

Slowly but surely, the average quality of U.S. milk is becoming amazingly good.

In 2013, for the 12th year in a row, the nationwide average somatic cell count (SCC) for all cows on Dairy Herd Improvement testing dropped to another new all-time low — this time to 199,000, according to the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding.

Just 10 years earlier, national average SCC was 319,000.

Twenty-six states had lower SCC averages in 2013 than in 2012, while 20 states had higher averages. Read more

The December Young Dairymen Quiz has been posted online. Enter your answers there for a chance to win a Foster Mothers of the Human Race print.

by Amanda Smith, Hoard’s Dairyman Associate Editor

In December 1974, Hoard’s Dairyman published, “How do you score in dairy knowledge?” on its Young Dairymen page. The quiz featured 51 questions based on articles that had appeared in the magazine during that calendar year. Since that first quiz, the December Young Dairymen tradition has remained strong. Read more